Peaches (Justin Bieber song)

"Peaches" debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, giving Bieber his seventh number-one hit on the chart, while it gave both Caesar and Giveon their first number-one. Elsewhere, the song topped simultaneously both the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S., as well as charts in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore and Slovakia. It also peaked within the top ten of the record charts in the United Kingdom and 20 other countries. It received four nominations at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best Music Video.

Composition and lyrics[edit]

"Peaches" is a laid-back pop, R&B, and pop soul ballad that cruises along over a mid-tempo funk groove and laced with a West Coast bounce.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]} It has been described as "colorful",^[12] "sun-dappled" and "slinky".^[13] Musically, the song is set in the key of C major and has a tempo of 90 beats per minute.^[14] It follows a simple four-chord structure of F major–E minor–D minor–C major.^[5] Bieber's voice has "a bright, pliable timbre" applied to it in the chorus and his verse, delivering his lines with a "pop twang".^[6][15] Caesar croons over his verse with a "smooth" delivery, while Giveon's vocals have a "silky baritone" to them.^[15] The track opens with a muted, "battered upright" piano part that becomes the song's backbone before introducing "leisurely" licks produced by an electric guitar.^[5][16] Additional synth layers are present at a chorus breakdown after the third verse, consisting of a string pad, synth lead and a subtly reversed pad.^[5] The song closes out instrumentally with a synth solo.^[5]


Lyrically, "Peaches" is a love song where Bieber, Caesar, and Giveon sing about their well-established relationships.^[17][18] The first verse finds Bieber alluding to a long-lasting romance: "There's nothing like your touch / It's the way you lift me up / And I'll be right here with you 'til the end."^[19] Zach Seemayer‍ of Entertainment Tonight suggested that the song was written with Bieber's wife Hailey Baldwin in mind.^[10] The chorus, which is "a sweet ode to different regions" and repeated seven times, is sung in a "call-and-response" style that intercuts each artist's verse, where Bieber professes to "get[ting] his peaches in Georgia and his weed from California".^{[6][15][20][21]} He also mentions "get[ting his] light right from the source", which some critics have speculated to be a religious reference that refers to God.^[6][22] On Caesar's verse, Boston Globe correspondent Maura Johnston drew comparisons between it and the music of American singer-songwriter Maxwell. She wrote that the "besotted" verse "lyrically recalls the romanticism of Maxwell's most lovelorn work".^[17] Giveon brings a sense of urgency to his voice in his verse as he sings the line: "Done being distracted / The one I need is right in my arms."^[6]

Commercial performance[edit]

In the United States, "Peaches" debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated March 30, 2021, becoming the 50th song to debut at number one, and giving Bieber his seventh number-one single and 23rd top-ten hit. "Peaches" started with 30.6 million US streams, becoming his fifth number-one song on Streaming Songs chart, at the No. 3 on Digital Songs chart with sales of 16,000 units, and attracted 12.1 million radio airplay audience impressions.^[42] Due to the song reaching the summit, Bieber tied Canadian rapper and singer Drake as the only male artists with four number-one entrances on the chart. The song additionally became both Caesar and Giveon's first number-one single on the chart. With the song's parent album, Justice, entering the Billboard 200 at the top position in the same week, Bieber became the third artist to debut at number one on both charts simultaneously, following BTS and Taylor Swift in 2020, as well as the first male soloist to do so.^[42] "Peaches" subsequently topped the Rhythmic Airplay and Pop Airplay charts, becoming Bieber's fifth and eighth leader, respectively.^[43][44]


In the United Kingdom, "Peaches" debuted at number one on the Official Trending Chart dated March 23, 2021.^[45] It entered the UK Singles Chart at number three, earning Bieber the week's highest new entry.^[46] The song rose to a new peak of number two on its third week on the chart, maintaining its position for four consecutive weeks.^[47] In Ireland, "Peaches" debuted atop the Irish Singles Chart and became Bieber's seventh number one single. Bieber also claimed the Official Irish Chart Double as Justice debuted at number one on the Irish Albums Chart.^[48] In Australia, "Peaches" debuted at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart.^[49] The song peaked at number one on its third week on the chart, becoming Bieber's fourth number one single and earning him a chart double with Justice spending a second non-consecutive week atop the national albums chart.^[50][51] The song stayed at the top position the following week.^[52] In New Zealand, "Peaches" entered the singles chart at number one and held the position for six consecutive weeks, earning Bieber his tenth number-one single in the country.^[53]

Live performances[edit]

Bieber performed a solo stripped-down version of "Peaches" at NPR's Tiny Desk Concert on March 17, 2021, two days before the song's official release. The song was performed alongside previously released singles "Holy", "Anyone", and "Hold On".^[54] On May 25, 2021, Bieber performed a medley of "Peaches" and "Hold On" on the twentieth-season finale of The Voice.^[55][56] Bieber performed a stripped-back rendition of "Peaches" along with "Hold On", "Love You Different", and "Somebody" during the iHeartRadio Wango Tango on June 30, 2021.^[57]


On April 3, 2022, Bieber performed a stripped back version of "Peaches" on his piano at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, where the song was up for four nominations. He was later joined by collaborators Daniel Caesar and Giveon, as well as a full band, in the second half of the performance.^[58]